INDIANAPOLIS – The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) announced Wednesday that Southwest Baptist University has been named the recipient of the GLVC James R. Spalding Overall Sportsmanship Award for the 2020-21 season. In addition, 30 student-athletes, one male and one female per school, have been named James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award winners, while 24 teams – one per sport, plus two ties – were previously recognized after learning of their honor during their respective All-Conference process.
Each institution – through the head coach – names one award honoree in each sport sponsored. These individual sport honorees became candidates for the individual James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award. Each institution then selects one male and one female student-athlete from its season-long list of honorees to be named as James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Individual Award winners.
Furthermore, during the initial nomination process, each institution’s coach ranks the top-three teams within the sport that best displayed good sportsmanship throughout the season. The team with the highest point total is then named that sport’s James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Team Award winner. At the conclusion of the academic year, the institution that accumulated the highest point total across all sports is named the James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Overall Award winner.
This accolade is the first for SBU in just its second year of GLVC membership. Under the guidance of Director of Athletics Mike Pitts, the Bearcats accumulated the most points during the 2020-21 season, featuring team sportsmanship wins in women’s cross country, volleyball, both men’s and women’s basketball, and women’s outdoor track and field. Both the volleyball and men’s basketball team honors were respectively shared with William Jewell College and McKendree University.
Behind SBU’s five team sportsmanship selections was Quincy University with four, including both men’s and women’s lacrosse, softball, and men’s tennis. Missouri S&T had three teams picked at the top (women’s soccer, men’s swimming, men’s golf), while the only other multi-sport school winners were Tuman State University (football and baseball) and McKendree (women’s bowling and men’s basketball).
University of Illinois Springfield men’s cross country, University of Missouri-St. Louis men’s soccer, Lindenwood University women’s swimming, associate member Davenport University men’s wrestling, Maryville University women’s golf, University of Southern Indiana women’s tennis, and University of Indianapolis men’s outdoor track & field each earned awards.
Among the notables for the sport winners, since the 2015-16 season, Truman State scored its league-best fifth consecutive accolade in football and fourth baseball honor in the last five seasons for a league record. William Jewell notched its third volleyball award in five years after tying SBU for the sport honor, while Quincy’s men’s tennis award marks its fifth-straight for a league record.
Southwest Baptist joins nine other schools as award winners in the 13-year period the honor has been presented. Former league member Northern Kentucky University claimed the inaugural award in 2007-08 when the accolade was chosen by the GLVC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), former member University of Wisconsin-Parkside earned it in 2008-09, Bellarmine claimed back-to-back titles in 2009-10 and 2010-11, and University of Southern Indiana won the title for the 2011-12 academic year. Drury University then took home top honors in 2012-13, Lewis University won from 2013-14, and William Jewell was distinguished in 2014-15. Maryville picked up the accolade in 2015-16 when the process and namesake changed, Truman garnered its first title in 2016-17 with another recognition in 2018-19, while former member Bellarmine University garnered its league-best third award in 2017-18. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic that suspended last year’s spring sports competition, no overall school sportsmanship award could be determined.
The GLVC renamed its annual sportsmanship award in 2016 after Spalding, who is referenced as one of the league’s two “Founding Fathers” and for his longtime service at Bellarmine. Spalding was first a basketball student-athlete at Bellarmine, who later returned to serve his alma mater as assistant basketball coach (1957-66), head basketball coach (1966-71), men's cross country/track coach (1961-75), men's tennis coach (1961-62), and men's golf coach (1967-69), before being elevated to director of athletics (1971-94). During his tenure as AD, Spalding expanded Bellarmine's participation in intercollegiate sports from four to 16 teams and played a prominent role in both the formation of the GLVC and the sponsorship expansion of women's athletics within the league. Long revered as one of the league's pioneers, Spalding was inducted as a charter member of the GLVC Hall of Fame in 2001. He died in 2012 at the age of 79, following a lengthy illness.
2020-21 GLVC JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM AWARD WINNERS
| Men’s Cross Country: Illinois Springfield |
Women’s Cross Country: Southwest Baptist |
| Football: Truman State |
Volleyball: Southwest Baptist & William Jewell |
| Men’s Soccer: Missouri-St. Louis |
Women’s Soccer: Missouri S&T |
| Men’s Swimming: Missouri S&T |
Women’s Swimming: Lindenwood |
| Men’s Basketball: McKendree & Southwest Baptist |
Women’s Basketball: Southwest Baptist |
| Women’s Bowling: McKendree |
Wrestling: Davenport |
| Men’s Lacrosse: Quincy |
Women’s Lacrosse: Quincy |
| Men’s Golf: Missouri S&T |
Women’s Golf: Maryville |
| Men’s Tennis: Quincy |
Women’s Tennis: Southern Indiana |
| Baseball: Truman State |
Softball: Quincy |
| Men’s Outdoor Track & Field: Indianapolis |
Women’s Outdoor Track & Field: Southwest Baptist |
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2020-21 GLVC JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP INDIVIDUAL AWARD WINNERS
| School |
Male Winner |
Female Winner |
| Drury |
Conley Garrison, Basketball |
Serena Berrey, Golf |
| Illinois Springfield |
Tyler Pasley, Cross Country |
Natalie Cokel, Softball |
| Indianapolis |
Brian Sales, Outdoor Track & Field |
Pilar Echeverria, Golf |
| Lewis |
Keith Parkman II, Lacrosse |
Jamie Hansen, Soccer |
| Lindenwood |
Hector Horcajada, Men’s Tennis |
Kat Finnerty, Volleyball |
| Maryville |
Bailey Kelly, Wrestling |
Hannah Tolley, Softball |
| McKendree |
Jaimie Omalla, Outdoor Track & Field |
Rebecca Hagerman, Bowling |
| Missouri S&T |
Braden Mahurin, Baseball |
Cameryn Boucher, Soccer |
| Missouri-St. Louis |
Juan Antonio Padilla, Golf |
Jessica Mrzlak, Softball |
| Quincy |
Jacob Kalusniak, Baseball |
Alaina Rothermich, Volleyball |
| Rockhurst |
Jake Bastien, Lacrosse |
McKenna Leetch, Soccer |
| Southern Indiana |
Josef Winkler, Soccer |
Callie Gubera, Volleyball |
| Southwest Baptist |
Asa Carter, Outdoor Track & Field |
Regan Tibbits, Basketball |
| Truman |
Carson Lackey, Outdoor Track & Field |
Hannah Pinkston, Basketball |
| William Jewell |
Anthony Hansen, Baseball |
Maddie Wingert, Volleyball |